Euro 2012 Preview: Group B

Group B: Holland, Germany, Portugal, Denmark

Fixtures: Saturday 9 June
                 Holland v Denmark. 5pm. Metalist Stadium, Kharkiv
                 Germany v Portugal. 7:45 pm. Arena Lviv, Lviv

                 Wednesday 13 June
                 Denmark v Portugal. 5pm. Arena Lviv, Lviv
                 Holland v Germany. Metalist Stadium, Kharkiv

                Sunday 17 June
                Portugal v Holland. 7:45pm. Metalist Stadium, Kharkiv
                Denmark v Germany. 7:45pm. Arena Lviv, Lviv

Holland
The Dutch qualified for Euro 2012 in convincing fashion, winning nine out of ten games and scoring 37 goals. Not surprising considering their attacking talent. Rafael Van der Vaart, Robin Van Persie, Arjen Robben, Wesley Sneijder and Klass Jan Huntelaar offer assists and goals in abundance. Any of those five can win a match single handedly which is why they are one of the favourites to win the tournament. However, the Oranje's defence appears weak on paper which could see them fall short. This was shown when they got beat by Germany 3-0 in a friendly in November, a result which they hope won't be repeated on 13 June.

Van Persie: Golden boot winner?

Key Player: Robin Van Persie. In the form of his life for his club side Arsenal, scoring 37 goals in all competitions and the Premier League's top goalscorer with 30 this season. He is likely to start on the right for Holland, with Schalke striker Klaas Jan Huntelaar as striker, but don't be surprised if he wins another golden boot award this summer.

Likely line up:

                                Stekelenburg

 Van der Wiel   Mathijsen      Heitinga     Pieters

                  Van Bommell     Van der Vaart

    Van Persie            Sneijder               Robben

                                 Huntelaar

Odds: Win the tournament: 6/1
            Win Group B: 15/8
            Robin Van Perise Top Goalscorer: 9/1

Matt Says: No doubt about their attacking talent, but their defence looks weak. Semi finals.


Germany

A 100% record in qualifying, many expect Germany to repeat the exploits of their 1980 and 1996 teams and win the European Championships. They have been close in the past two major tournaments, losing to Spain in the final of Euro 2008 and then again in the semi final of the 2010 World Cup. But this young side now have more experience and have added quality to the squad, particularly with the emergence of Borussia Dortmund duo Mario Gotze and Matthias Hummels. It's about time they went that one stage further, and with their abundance of attacking talent and strong back five, 2012 could prove to be their year.

Ozil: One of a number of German attacking talent.

Key Player: Mesut Ozil. The Turkish born playmaker shone at the 2010 World Cup, putting numerous defences to the sword with his vision and passing which earned him a move to Real Madrid. After a slow start, Ozil was a key player for Jose Mourinho's men as they won the La Liga title.

Likely line up:

                                Neuer

 Boateng     Hummels      Badstuber     Lahm

                   Khedira     Schweinsteiger

        Muller              Ozil               Podolski

                              Gomez

Odds: Win the tournament: 3/1
            Win Group B: 1/1
            Mario Gomez Top Goalscorer: 8/1

Matt Says: They're a better team than two years ago. Winners.

Portugal

The start of qualifying for Euro 2012 was far from convincing for the Portugesse as they drew 4-4 to Cyprus and lost 1-0 in Norway. After replacing manager Carlos Queiroz with Paulo Bento their form did pick up, winning their next five and inspired by talisman Cristiano Ronaldo. In the crucial final game they needed to beat Denmark but lost 2-1. They beat Bosnia 6-2 in the playoffs to eventually qualify, but recent results have been poor. They were held to a 0-0 draw to Macedonia and then lost 3-1 to Turkey in Lisbon. Not ideal preparation.

Ronaldo: Talisman, but enough to get Portugal out of the group of death?

Key Player: Cristiano Ronaldo. The second best player in the world behind Lionel Messi. He has scored an incredible 112 goals in 102 league games in the past two years at Real Madrid and helped them win La Liga this season which could see him win the Ballon D'or.

Likely line up:

                        Patricio

 Pereira  Bruno Alves  Pepe  Coentrao

         Veloso  Meireles   Moutinho

     Nani                             Ronaldo

                       Postiga

Odds: Win the tournament: 18/1
            Win Group B: 4/1
            Cristiano Ronaldo Top Goalscorer: 12/1

Matt Says: Recent results suggest they could be heading for an early exit.

Denmark

Although not possessing any stars, its the sum of their parts which has proven successful for the Danes. Daniel Agger and Simon Kjaer form a solid partnership in central defence, while Nicklas Bendtner, often derided for his lack of goals in the Premier League, is a threat on the international stage. They pipped Portugal to automatic qualification from Group H, showing they can mix it with the big boys. Despite being in the Group of Death, they defied the odds in 1992 to win the Euro's so they should envy the role of underdog.
           

Eriksen: Danish Player of the Year

Key Player: Christian Eriksen. The Ajax playmaker had a limited role at the 2010 World Cup, but will be a key man at this tournament. Only 20, he was the youngest player ever to score in Euro qualifying, but has a lot of experience already having helped Ajax to the Dutch title and played in some big Champions League games. He now has a chance to perform on the biggest stage of his career so far and potentially earn himself a move to a bigger club.

Likely line up:

                              Andersen

   Jacobsen      Agger      Kjaer      S Poulsen

                        Kvist         Zimling

   Rommedahl         Eriksen         Kahlenburg

                               Bendtner

Odds: Win the tournament: 80/1
            Win Group B: 16/1
            Nicklas Bendtner Top Goalscorer: 80/1

Matt Says: The weakest team in the Group of Death. Won't make the knockout rounds.